Unrequited Love
by Irhaboggles
Summary: Elphaba wasn't quite sure when she had started to fall for Galinda, she only knew that she had, and it was a love that was growing stronger and stronger every day. But Galinda, dear, sweet Galinda, was blind to it all, and Elphaba was far too afraid to ever bring it up.


"Oh! Elphie! I love you so much!" Galinda squealed as she ran from their dorm room. Elphaba had offered to do the dorm room chores that evening so that Galinda could go out and enjoy herself. As Galinda ran away, though, smiling, Elphaba was frowning. It was not because of the fact that Galinda was leaving her alone with all the chores, but because even though Galinda was gone, her previous sentence remained in the air.

"Oh Galinda, if only you knew how much I wish that were really true," the green girl whispered sadly, but then her grief turned into anger. "No! Stop it, you fool!" she snarled at herself. "You_ know_ Galinda loves you! Just not in _that_ way! She doesn't! She won't! It's impossible! Stupid! Crazy! Idiotic! You're her friend, isn't that enough?!" Elphaba continued to chastise herself for the way she felt about Galinda, but she still couldn't stop the longing that filled her heart whenever she thought about her bubbly little blond roommate.

"I know she can't love me," the green girl said to herself. "I know she's probably already engaged to someone else. But I wish she would..."

Elphaba wasn't sure when it began, she just remembered that, suddenly, one day, seeing Galinda as a friend no longer felt like enough. The eyes with which Elphaba used to see Galinda had undergone some secret sort of change that effected the way the green girl saw her best friend and now, it didn't appear that there was any way to go back. Suddenly, and without any rhyme or reason at all, Elphaba had suddenly looked at Galinda and felt warm and fuzzy inside. She'd felt the butterflies in her stomach and she had felt her heartbeat start to speed up. For some reason, Elphaba could no longer look at Galinda without feeling very happy. Her blue eyes suddenly seemed even prettier, her gold hair even brighter, her skin even more alluring than ever before. For some reason, a spark had been born out of nowhere, and it grew hotter and hotter every day after that...

Hours later, having finished the chores and her homework, Elphaba snuggled up into bed, trying desperately to erase Galinda from her mind. It didn't work. Instead, at one point during the night, Elphaba heard the door creak open and woke up long enough to peek one brown eye out of her blankets to see Galinda, standing there in the doorway. Then Galinda came over, right to Elphaba's bedside. Elphaba's heart was suddenly beating too hard and too fast and she couldn't help but wonder what Galinda was about to do...

"Goodnight Elphie!" Galinda chirped, softly but cheerfully. Then, she bent down and kissed Elphaba's hair before sauntering over to her own bed and climbing in like nothing had even happened. Barely five minutes later, Elphaba could hear the sound of heavy breathing that was not her own. Galinda was asleep. But Elphaba knew that she wouldn't be able to do the same for the whole rest of the night. Not so long as she could still feel Galinda's warm lips pressing fondly into her head. Elphaba remained caught up in the moment of the kiss for the whole rest of the night, but instead of feeling elated, the green girl wanted to cry out in pain and sorrow. This was because, although Elphaba wanted to say that the kiss had been romantic, she knew full well that it had only been platonic, and that was what was killing her inside. Galinda didn't love her, not like that. And Elphaba didn't dare admit her own feelings on the matter, lest she scare Galinda off entirely.

Memories of Galinda's past affections filled Elphaba's mind. Everything Galinda did for Elphaba, although it didn't always go right, was always well-meant. Elphaba was unused to such kindness. That was why Elphaba had fallen for her. Galinda defended Elphaba even though it got them both in trouble. She also gave Elphaba makeovers even though Elphaba hated those. Galinda even studied occasionally to please Elphaba, though she whined half the time she tried. She would give Elphaba little gifts, even though they were always useless trinkets she wouldn't use. She would try to take Elphaba on adventures with her, even though Elphaba hated the mall. But all of these gestures had been done with good intent.

But even so, as time passed, Elphaba had also begun to see the sacrifices Galinda made for her. Every time Galinda defended her, she'd sacrifice a bit of her good graces with the others. Every time she gave Elphaba a makeover, she'd sacrifice resources and time and effort. Every time she obeyed Elphaba's command to study, she sacrificed her own personal enjoyments. Every time she bought Elphaba stupid little gifts, she sacrificed money. Every time she took Elphaba out shopping, she sacrificed being ostracized as the weirdo who liked the green bean. Galinda's intentions hadn't just been well-meant, they had also been very sacrificial on her part. This is what turned Elphaba's spark for Galinda into an inferno, but bright as it was, Galinda still never even noticed.

The next day, the two had breakfast together while Galinda animatedly told Elphaba of last night's fun.

"-went to the bar with Pfanee, Shenshen and Milla!" Galinda said, missing the flash of envy in Elphaba's eyes when she mentioned her three old friends. "We had a drinking game, Shenshen won, but I came in second!" Galinda bragged, and Elphaba was so entranced by Galinda's story that she didn't realize that Galinda had accidently flung a bit of food at her until it hit her chest.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Galinda began to ramble as she ran to the other side of the table to help clean Elphaba up. Elphaba went stiff as she felt Galinda wiping her chest. Galinda's touch was entirely chaste, but Elphaba almost wished she wasn't because Oz knew her mind was in the gutter right now.

"It's ok, Galinda," Elphaba said, forcing herself to be calm as she took Galinda's hand in her own and looked the blond in her bright blue eyes. Elphaba gulped, suddenly self-conscious. She didn't remember saying anything else, but she must've because Galinda replied.

"Alright, I just didn't want you to be mad!" Galinda said, and Elphaba almost laughed. Like she could ever get mad at Galinda? She blushed as the blond skipped back to her seat, hips swaying in a pleasing manner as she did so. Elphaba almost wished Galinda would accidently throw more food on her, but sadly, it was not to be. Galinda was very careful for the whole rest of the meal.

Later that night, the girls said their goodnights, but Elphaba had refused to stop staring, even after Galinda had. Instead, when Elphaba said her own goodnight, she looked deeply into Galinda's eyes and, at last, even the oblivious little blond began to understand that something big was going on in Elphaba's mind.

"What is it?" Galinda asked, almost breathless. It was like she was waiting for the confession. Did Elphaba dare hope?

But then memories of breakfast came back to the green girl. How stupid Elphaba had felt during that time. How chaste and innocent Galinda had been. It was madness to think that there had been love in that action. She had only been trying to help! And all the other acts of physical affection that Galinda had used on Elphaba? That was just part of Galinda's personality. She was naturally physically affectionate and Elphaba was not special when it came to that. Galinda was touchy with everyone! Not just her.

Suddenly scared that Galinda would turn on her if she confessed, Elphaba simply shook her head and went on to bed without another word. Galinda was still as oblivious as ever. But once the lights went out, Elphaba's unreadable face dissolved into one of the utmost pain and grief. Tears burned down her face as her body rocked with silent sobs. The sting of that unrequited love, and seeing Galinda's face so close to hers, had hurt Elphaba so badly that she finally broke down. But even now, although Elphaba was crying, Galinda was just as oblivious as ever.

**AN: Idk why I wrote this other than to show Elphaba pining for Galinda. I guess I feel like we only ever really see it go the other way around, so it's nice to see Elphaba pining for Galinda for once instead of vice versa. Sorry for the sad feels!**


End file.
